Casting details have leaked on Iron Man 2, leading many to figure out just how the sequel is going to work.
The details read: (“30s, Eastern European, brilliant, gritty”), female lead (“20s, beautiful, speaks several languages fluently and is equally proficient in martial arts”), and a “bruiser” type (“Russian, 20s or 30s, at least 6′2″, able to perform own stunts, has the build of a MMA fighter”).
While many saw the hints of Iron Man’s chief villain the Mandarin laid out in the first film, the production team may be hesitant to use such a racist character in a mainstream film (unless they massively change the walking stereotype in the Fun Manchu mustache).
If the above casting call is true, this leads many a comic fan toward the most obvious choice… Crimson Dynamo.
Introduced in ‘63 soon after Iron Man started off in Tales of Suspense, Crimson Dynamo is another armored walking tank character set to out-do Stark at his own game. A super villain indicative of the Cold War paranoia and obsession with ideological warfare between democracy and communism, the Crimson Dynamo was ultimately deprogrammed by Stark and even hired as an engineer in his lab. A large burly man, Crimson Dynamo could easily be viewed as “bruiser” type (“Russian, 20s or 30s, at least 6′2″, able to perform own stunts, has the build of a MMA fighter”).
Crimson Dynamo may seem like just another guy in a suit… because he is, but he also has something to offer in turns of character. The fact that he changes sides is one of those Marvel Comics devices that I’d like to see played up in the movies more. Just so it’s not similar to the nauseating transformation from blood-thirsty villain to saccharine buddy that we saw in Spider-Man 3.
There the two former foes got along… until the beautiful Black Widow arrived to assassinate the Crimson Dynamo for his betrayal to mother Russia.
Black Widow could easily fit the bill of female lead (“20s, beautiful, speaks several languages fluently and is equally proficient in martial arts”). A trained assassin from the KGB, the Black Widow is a smokey-voiced sultry killer who has been through so many changes through the years after her mid 60’s introduction that she could easily be the most versatile female character in comics. In truth, her look is pretty simple: red hair, skin tight uniform, gold bracelets. Another villain-turned-hero, the Black Widow of the comic book world eventually ends up working for S.H.I.E.L.D., which was name-dropped all over Iron Man and the Incredible Hulk films. One of the more interesting female characters in comics, I’m hoping she makes it into this franchise one way or another.
Sure, fans are somewhat disappointed that the next film could end up being a bit of a repeat of the first with its dueling robot jocks… but that’s like being disappointed that the next Batman film would feature another nutter.This is Iron Man, after all. If we get a third, maybe Fing Fang Foom or some such supernatural threat could be introduced.
Done right, a tag team of Crimson Dynamo and the Black Widow could be visually entertaining and just different enough to keep things interesting. Director Favreau has already show that he can make one of the more traditionally ‘boring’ super heroes stunning, so I don’t think viewers are in any danger of being bored at the cinema in 2010.
So who do you think (“30s, Eastern European, brilliant, gritty”), is?
